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Coventry Peace House

Coventry City of Peace

We are made up of six little houses painted bright yellow! We are fifteen minutes walk from the city centre in a vibrant multicultural area and have a nice big garden.

From June 1997 until July 1998 there was a peace camp outside the Alvis tank factory on the Walsgrave Triangle in Coventry, and when that came to an end three people from the camp, Penny, John and Becqke, decided to set up a more permanent base for peace and non-violence in the city. They found six little houses in a row on the Stoney Stanton Road which had been empty for three and a half years and managed to buy them for £50,000 via a mortgage with Triodos bank and loanstock from lots of friends. Coventry Peace House opened its doors in January 1999.

The way a fully mutual housing co-op works is that the members are people who live there, they make decisions about the house and they pay rent which pays the mortgage. There is no private ownership but neither is there an outside body controlling it. While you live there you are like a steward of the property and when you leave, you just leave.

​For the first few years there was a lot of work to be done repairing and renovating the house: scrap and rubbish had to be moved, scaffolding put in, plastering to be done, tiling, building walls, knocking down walls, painting, plumbing, wiring…

​The renovation has been achieved through lots of help from volunteers – manually, inspirationally and financially, and through a project we ran for 4 years with young people. They were mainly young people who were disenchanted with school and either excluded or irregular attenders who came to us to learn some useful construction skills and also increase their confidence and self esteem. Many thanks to them all.

Right from the beginning the members of the house wanted it to used as a community resource: they organised community learning days, building skills projects, workshops on peace, conflict, non-violence, art and resistance.

In January 2003 Coventry Peace House Education Trust was established, a registered charity running peace, environmental and inclusion projects. Coventry Cycling Centre opened in June 2004 and the Community Space in October 2005. We have a range of permanent and temporary projects going on depending on the energy, ideas and enthusiasm: community groups, puppeteering projects, migrant support, exhibitions, singing days, football, demonstrations, workshops, films and discussions.

Bike Workshop

The Bike Workshop is no commercial shop that sells or repairs bikes. It is a workshop, where volunteers mend and sell donated bikes for charity. ​

​The workshop is usually open on Tuesday from 10:30 am-12.30, 1.30-4.00 and 5.30-7.30 pm. If you are coming a long way then check we are open before setting out, everyone is a volunteer so sometimes other things come up, and please be patient if we take a while to get back to you.

You can contact the workshop on 07459507918. The phone will be switched on whenever the workshop is open.

During opening hours, you can come by to have a look at the bikes that we’ve got and to buy one. Generally, bikes cost up to £50.

If you are passionate about bikes, or you would like to learn more about bike repairs, come by and talk to us about volunteering options!

Donations of old bikes are always welcome! Please drop them off while we are open. Unfortunately we can’t collect any bikes.​

Comments

Coventry Peace House — 3 Comments

Hi, I’m looking to buy a bike for my partner.i saw on your Facebook page that you no longer sell bikes, but on here it says you do?
Can you let me know as I’d rather buy from yourselves if I can.
I’m after a mountain bike suitable for a 6ft3 guy, just for riding up and down the canal and maybe into town and back to swan lane.
Many thanks
Beth